You Could Have A Dream About Losing Your Friends

[Riki]

Lucilly squinted once again, but it was not the light blinding her eyes, but the words used by their new visitor which stained Lucilly's own ears. Why on good god earth's she decided to squint her eyes then instead of her ears might have been a mystery for many ages, unsolved by many great and wise men.

It would have been one, yet alas the answer to the question was easy to find. One cannot squint their ears.

[randomness]

Jaime's sudden shouting had felt like the equivalent of a jump scare, and for a moment Amanda had panicked. Her index finger was pressing against the safety lever, the small piece of metal preventing her finger from pulling the trigger. So much for asking if the others were doing anything stupid.

But the safety had done it's job of preventing her from even getting near the trigger. In the end it was only a little metal lever that had stood between her and the biggest mistake of her life.

But it had worked, and the what if scenarios were resigned to her brain, and she was left standing there with the person that she almost shot shouting about how the torch was burning her eyes off.

It didn't help that Jaime was the kind of person that Amanda couldn't really enjoy being around in the best of circumstances. Even less so now that she was being shouted at. At least the little circle of light that Jaime was complaining about showed that she wasn't visibly armed.

Emma seemed to be doing her best to calm Jaime down, but Amanda wasn't sure if that would work. Lucilly seemed content to stay in her corner, an understandable but mildly frustrating response.

"Sorry!" Amanda turned the light away from the girl. "I didn't mean to... Yeah."

The apology felt hollow. She had almost shot her. What the heck was she supposed to say? It was dark and no one had probably seen anything, but she still knew what she had done.

"Okay. Okay. Let's calm down and talk things out a sec." Amanda said, as much to herself as to Jaime.

[decoy73]

As her eyes readjusted from nearly being burned away, she recognized Emma and Amanda from around. The third girl was someone from somewhere.

"Jaime! Jaime, it's a-alright. No one here will hurt you. Really." Emma was trying to pull the same shit as always. Given the situation, she might be right for the people in the room, but that was eventually going to fail.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to... Yeah." Amanda at least had the decency to realize that she was kinda wrong.

"Okay. Okay. Let's calm down and talk things out a sec." Jamie looked at Amanda and noticed the big-ass gun that Amanda was pointing at her

"Yeah, let's do that. But first get that gun away from me. I'd like to not get shot please." At least Jaime was able to say this in a somewhat normal tome of voice.

[KamiKaze]

Amanda told Jaime to calm down. Was that a good idea? Emma knew one thing about people: they didn't like to be told to calm down. Usually that made them more angry and defensive. Jaime probably wasn't the type who'd relax after someone telling her to do so, either. But Jaime's voice did have a more normal tone. Not significantly, but still.

Emma looked towards Amanda, and nodded in agreement. Jaime had said that the gun had made her uncomfortable, so it was probably a good idea to put it down for the time being. It hit her, though. It was something she didn't realize at first, but seeing the gun in her hands made her realize it. Amanda had pulled the gun on her. Sure, she was scared, and Jaime could have been someone dangerous. But it still happened.

How many times would she have to point it at someone? Would there be a time where she'd fire? Hurt someone? Kill?

Emma tried to push that thought aside, but it stuck for a bit longer than she would have liked.

She began the process of pulling herself back up into the chair again. Her muscles still ached with each movement. But her feet touched the ground once more, and, with a groan, she plopped onto the seat. She leaned forward, her face towards the ground. She massaged the space between her right thumb and forefinger with her left hand. But a few seconds later, she looked up.

All three girls seemed scared or upset in their own way. She couldn't blame them. But she had to bring it up.

"Hey, guys," she said. "It... might be a good idea to figure out what we're going to do for the next few days."

There were a lot of things that still needed to be accounted for. Food and water were obvious. A good place to stay was another. While it seemed okay for the basics, it was dark and dreary in here. Probably not good psychologically in the grand scheme of things. And... then there were the more dangerous people. Emma hoped, with all her heart, that not many people at Cochise would be the type. She would be so happy if there were only a few deaths at most, and if they could leave without killing. Of course, there were safe people, too. Sabrina and her cousins, hopefully they were alright and not in any danger. Sabrina had been on the trip, so that was one person to look out for. She wasn't sure how many of her cousins had gone. But there was a good chance that any one of them could be stuck here. For a moment, her imagination gave her the mental image of her cousins, betrayed and murdered. It wasn't just her family, either. She had friends, too. Friends that, if something happened to them, would devastate her.

She spoke up again.

"Did any of you see anyone else? Um... before we met up, I mean."

Emma remembered that Amanda said she didn't a second after she finished talking. But Lucilly and Jaime could still have answers. Maybe they'd give her an idea of what it was like out there, if they knew about anything.

[Riki]

Jamie was a storm of fury and anger which entered the room, not unlike a wild summer storm appearing after a day of leisure and pleasure to disrupt all gentle pacing and throw both the shingle on the roof and the flower pot on the ground, to the ground. Yes, it was anger but it was shock as well, for Jamie was greeted not by a storm herself but by a blast of lightning striking down a tree, felling the mighty wood and felling it unto her own place of comfort.

Lucilly would have noticed, but she did not want to notice the lighting. She found it hard to not to notice, for Emma spoke aloud the question that had to be asked. A question that without fail would startle Lucilly. A question that was without doubt like the thunder growling near, signaling that the beautiful sun was gone and all the world would need to seek shelter or perish.

"My apologies."

For she had no answer to give. She could not say that she had seen someone but the lifeless body of Mr. Graham, and it was a sight she wished to un-see. It was a sight that made her feel the nausea returning, but brave little Lucilly just gulped down what came up.

"I... am afraid. I am afraid I woke up here. You are the first ones to find me."

...

"I do not wish to be found by anyone else. Not at this point..."

[randomness]

The whole situation was absurd.

She had a weapon pointing at Jaime, she'd asked them to calm down, and despite all that, Jaime seemed to be far more calm than she was herself.

Amanda turned her weapon down slowly, as if she was only now aware of how dangerous a rifle was. Sure, she knew what they did, but it had seemed, like any other tool when she had first picked it up. It felt different now, having pointed it at someone. It was clear how easy it was to actually kill someone. It was far too easy to just pull a trigger and kill someone.

"Alright, alright. It's down." Amanda tried to sound calm but between her unsteady breaths and her , it was clear enough that she wasn't.

Amanda fidgeted with both objects in her hands for a moment, avoiding eye contact with Jaime. To top everything off, there didn't seem to be a comfortable way to hold both the torch and the rifle so that she wouldn't point them at anyone, and she eventually decided to lean both against the operating table, casting a weird spotlight on the opposite wall.

Emma broke the near silence, and Amanda could only agree with that. Any plan was better than whatever she was doing so far, which had been looking about and panicking.

Even if no one was playing, it was more than likely that accidents were going to happen, given how close she had been to one right here.

"I looked around outside for a bit. Haven't actually seen anyone. It's not exactly very nice out there either. It was just a dim corridor. I guess it leads out."

Sitting here in the darkness wasn't going to do them any good, in any case. It was cold and damp and just really terrible in general.

"So..." Amanda tried to segue into the question in a natural manner, "What weapons did you guys end up with anyway?"

[decoy73]

It was now question time. Emma asked if any of them had seen anyone else, as well as what to do over the next few days. The answer with all of the others was "No." Amanda similarly asked what weapon they had after thankfully putting the gun down, and directing the flashlight so that it didn't blind her in any sense.

"I just woke up here. and as for what I got, the answer is nothing. As for what we do, we could hole up here and attempt to wait it out, or something."

[KamiKaze]

Emma frowned. On one hand, it was good that no one encountered someone dangerous. On the other, she'd been hoping that they would have ran into a friend or one of her relatives. It was a naïve thought, sure, but it didn't hurt asking. But, like her, no one had encountered anyone else. But everyone had stayed safe thus far, which was a plus. Lucilly also said that she didn't want to run into anyone else, either. In a way, Emma could respect that. On the other, she still was antsy about who was in danger and who to watch out for.

"I haven't checked yet," she said in response to Amanda's question. "I... was kind of in-and-out before you guys found me. I could look, though?"

Emma looked around, and saw her bag, still sitting on the floor where she'd left it. She leaned forward, and with another groan she pulled it up by the strap and put it onto her lap. Presumably, that's where they'd put it. It looked like Amanda's rifle was too big, so that might not have been the case. It was worth looking in there, though. But Jaime's idea made her stop, and look around again.

Amanda's flashlight revealed more details of the room they were in. Large puddles littered the ground, the light reflecting off of them. It looked like there was mold from the moisture, since there were some dark spots on the walls and ceiling. A cold and wet place could mean someone getting sick. Spending a few days in a dark, wet, and cold room with no windows seemed unpleasant, too. She couldn't possibly imagine staying here for days on end. Maybe one, but no more. It did have the benefit of hiding spots, though. Amanda did say she didn't see anyone else in here at first, did she?

But the flashlight had landed on something that got Emma's attention. While the boxes did cast shadows along the room, she noticed that the light highlighted a yellowed poster on the wall. It was a little dim, but it appeared to show a cross-section of the human skull. As she continued looking at it, a look of disgust passed over her face as she noticed more details. It showed a needle going through someone's eyes and into the frontal lobe area. A disturbing enough image as-is, but Emma had taken Psychology as an elective. She still couldn't believe that people did that as a treatment. It was beyond cruel, and it was often for unnecessary things.

It wasn't something good to stare at for the next few days.

"Holing up somewhere's a good idea," she said, adjusting herself nervously. "Just... not here. We might end up sick and miserable over the next few days."

[Riki]

Again, another word. A word to be shamed, shunned. Avoided at all costs and yet Amanda uttered and yet Lucilly listened. Had to listen, but she sighed. Sighed as if to show the world that one did not talk about guns and knives and poison. Not them, not there.

Yet, though Lucilly sighed and shuddered as Amanda asked, she found herself curious. She had a bag, and she cradled the bag, and yet what was within the bag was without Lucilly's sphere of knowledge.

The young girl knew, though. She knew that it was her bag she was holding. She knew that what was within was meant to be used by her. She also knew that it was not just a tool to kill that she had been given, but also food and water to replenish her body. She would have, and Lucilly knew that was without doubt true - she would have to take the peek inside what was hers.

So she did. She looked below and looked into it and with a quick zip she could see all. She could see bottles of water. She could see bricks of edibles and she could see a medical kit. She could see manuals and she could see a magazine, appearing completely different from all that was else there to see.

She found curiosity, and pulled the magazine out.





She quickly lost it again.

"...let's move, yes."

[randomness]

Lucilly was searching through her bag now, and Amanda couldn't help but watch, leaning against the operating table to get a better look.

It looked the same stuff that she found in her bag, food, water, and the same bunch of manuals that were a weird mix of sketchy, useful, and distasteful.

Lucilly seemed to find something as well, it's bright colour setting it apart from the other objects. Lucilly pulled it out from the bag.

"Okay. That's just wrong. Why did they even..." The terrorists had a really shitty sense of humour. Who even used magazines anymore- Nope. She was stopping that thought right there, and forgetting everything about it. That was probably for the better.

Amanda clutched the rifle a little tighter. Was she the only one who had gotten a weapon? She wasn't exactly the first person she'd entrust with one, that much was already made clear. And yet, she wasn't about to give it up either. She was going to hold on to it for as long as she could.

In any case, Emma and Lucilly were right about getting out of here. The bagstrap was already beginning to dig into her shoulder and, even if her windbreaker was waterproof, the damp was starting to get to her.

"But yeah, the two of them are right. I'm not sure how safe it is outside, but I'd rather take the risk than stay in here for the rest of my life. I'd prefer to be somewhere warm where we can dry off."

Amanda paused a second.

"It's not like staying in here will make us any safer anyway," she said.

It really didn't matter whether Jaime was going to object. Amanda was leaving and there was a good chance someone was likely to follow.

She picked up the things up from the table, stuffing the torch back into her bag. It didn't quite fit very well now that she'd moved some of the things about, but she'd been having too much trouble holding both things in her hands. Actually, shouldn't someone else be holding on to a torch instead?

"So? Anyone coming with?" she asked.

[decoy73]

That was three votes in favor of going somewhere else. Jaime was going to protest leaving, but said protest died on her lips when she looked at Amanda's gun. Given her weapon of nothing, she wasn't join any further than twenty feet from that thing. She then saw what Other Girl pulled out of her bag, and Jaime's face almost broke into a smile.

Are they serious? Maybe she could use it on one of the guys, hope they jack it long enough to get away from them?

Jaime shook her head as Amanda asked if anyone was coming with her.

"Fine. We go somewhere else." Jaime looked around at the now obscured signs. "I didn't look around much. Are we in some sort of loony bin?"

[KamiKaze]

Emma briefly looked back down at her bag, and slowly unzipped. Right away, she saw what she guessed was food and water. A few bottles were laid side by side, along with some bars and some bread. Placed just beside the bottle was a flashlight, which Emma picked up. At least it was thoughtful of them to give them a light source? She guessed? Still didn't make up for the fact that they were here, though.

Emma saw a first aid kit, also convenient. And... was that a coil of metal? She almost grabbed it, only to realize what it was, even in the dim light. Barbed wire.

She could have easily nicked herself open if her hand was only an inch closer. The last thing she needed was tetanus. What was she supposed to do with barbed wire? Back at home, you used it to keep coyotes out. They'd raised chickens, and you didn't want a coyote in. But would it protect them against dangerous classmates here? For a moment, Emma pictured all the ways someone could kill someone else with wire. She stopped just as she pictured it being used to strangle someone, the barbs digging into their neck. Emma felt her skin crawl at the thought.

Emma looked up again, and saw Lucilly holding a magazine of some kind. She squinted her eyes at it, only to tear her head away once she saw a flash of flesh. Emma felt her face contort. What was that? A woman? Doing things? But that looked painful. Did they really expect them to find a way to murder someone with... no. She didn't want to know. She didn't want to look at it any more. It was gross.

Emma decided to stop her own search then and there. They were probably going to leave soon, anyways. Though, she did flick on her flashlight. Amanda had put hers away, and it was good to have a source of light no matter what.

"Hang on, gimme a sec..." she said. "Still feeling unwell."

She still wasn't sure if she could stand without help, much less walk. Did they know about her health problems? It was something that she didn't try to hide nowadays, largely because it was more convenient for people to know. Emma was sure it was mostly the gas, but still. Her muscles ached and begged as she attempted to stand. Two feet flat on the ground, and she pulled herself up. Well, she could stand now, which was good. The hard part was, though, slinging the strap over her shoulder. It felt like a bunch of weights. She felt like a zombie. A few white flashes flicked around in her vision. She still felt somewhat nauseous and disorientated, but she was making good progress. She slowly stepped towards the exit. Her boots squeaked with each baby step.

"Loony bin?" she asked. "Well, it does appear to be a run-down operating room. And, um..."

She stopped for a second. With her free hand, she pointed at the diagram she'd noticed a few minutes ago.

"I think they did lobotomies in here. Basically, if you're unruly, they'd stick a pick into your brain and-"

Emma cut herself off. Wow. She really wasn't helping, wasn't she? The last thing anyone wanted to hear about in a survival situation was outdated and cruel treatment methods. But knowing that they were in some kind of mental asylum, that was helpful. Maybe they'd have supplies that'd hold up for a few days. Shelter and hiding spots, too.

She rubbed her face. She needed to leave. She wouldn't be cold, she'd get some fresh air so that she could breathe and think, and she needed to feel comfortable. It would help everyone else, too.

"Right. Let's go, then."

[Riki]

Still a feeling of unease? Emma's words carried something sinister with them, and without doubt did Lucilly know that there was a sinister menace lurking. She had heard, of course, if not for the fact that Emma was a woman of many words and many loose words most of all, but for the fact that she had opened her heart once. Once, twice, to people who listened and to people like Lucilly.

She had heard, but she did not remember. Lucilly felt shame for not remembering what was the issue behind... Emma's issues. Only knowing would be able to provide proper solace and proper comfort, but because she did not know, Lucilly could neither solace nor comfort.

So, instead, Lucilly nodded. Nodded heartily and with much affection in the downward swing of her chin. It was not the most and it was not little either, but it was an acknowledgement. She would be sure to ask, dare to be embarrassed, but ask and then be capable of helping her.

Somehow, even if Lucilly did not know how to.

Jamie called the place they were in a 'loony bin' and Lucilly found the word distasteful. It was a distasteful place, indeed, but to describe it with those words bothered Lucilly. In the same way it bothered her to see what was her designated 'weapon'.

No, there was something worse she realized. She realized with the help of Emma who put a word to it. Lobotomy. An act of cruel men who thought themselves to be wise, an act of savagery disguised as knowledge. To think that people thought that was good, though it was without doubt a matter of evil. It was truly a terrifying thought, and a thought that made her want to leave more and more.

Lucilly nodded again. The upward swing of her chin filled with determination.

She looked over to Jamie. To Amanda. To Emma. She nodded once more and she took the first step.

[[Lucilly Peterson, continued elsewhere]]

[randomness]

((Mild GMing approved by Kamikaze))

Good. Everyone was agreed then.

But Emma seemed to have some trouble getting back up on her feet.

Was she okay? Amanda had heard the clatter of the fall earlier, but it didn't sound like it was that bad.

As the conversation turned towards crazies and lobotomies, Amanda could only guess that Emma was overwhelmed by everything in here. It wasn't too surprising. The room seemed to do it's best to make them all feel terrible.

"Need some help?" she asked, motioning towards her shoulder with a tilt of her head. "Hang on to my shoulder for a bit."

It was a little funny. She'd put away her torch because it was a little inconvenient and now she was acting as a human crutch for someone holding the torch.

The pressure was a little more than she had expected and Emma was just short enough to make walking like this really awkward, but she probably wouldn't have to do this for too long. She'd better not have to.

Lucilly was already making her way out, an action that was more than a slight surprise given how passive the girl had been so far.

"Alright, guess we're already moving."

((Amanda Tan continued in Notes from an Even Smaller Island))

[decoy73]

Okay, she did not need to hear that. Granted, she had asked the question, but still, once Emma went on about picking out the brain, it was obvious that the next parts of that operation were not to be discussed. To be fair, Emma realized it as well. Emma had reached into her bag and taken out a similar flashlight, and then took it out again before she stood up and left with help from Amanda, following Other Girl. Jaime just shook her head and followed.

Oh, I'm sure this will be real fun.

((Jaime Steinbeck continued in Notes from an Even Smaller Island))